Switching and dimming of furniture-mounted light fixtures has been conventionally accomplished using hard-wired connections installed by a licensed electrician. This involves hard-wiring AC power wires to the switch or switch/dimmer unit and running electrical wires between the switch or switch/dimmer unit and the furniture-mounted light fixture(s) behind a wall and, possibly also, through openings in the furniture. In a 3-way-switching set-up in which two control units can control a single light fixture, the two switch or switch/dimmer units must also be connected to each other. These connections are time consuming to make. Additionally, with furniture-mounted lights, the electrician often needs to be called in a second time to wire the furniture, as furniture is one of the last items to be installed in a room. In a hotel with hundreds of rooms containing furniture-mounted light fixtures, this can be a significant cost and burden.
Also, some electrical inspectors will not allow furniture to be hard-wired, which requires the electrician to wire ordinary wall outlets into which the furniture-mounted light fixtures must be plugged. Such light fixtures cannot be easily controlled from a remotely located switch or switch/dimmer unit.